EmacsCast 6: less software and back to defaults and basics, as much as possible

Thanks to continuous support from this subreddit, I was able to launch my first podcast in a foreign, to me, language and I don't plan to stop! Your comments and emails keep motivating me, and I enjoy working on this project a lot.

A few listeners suggested this, and I decided to start a Patreon for EmacsCast. I will work on this podcast regardless, but if you feel like it, you can become a patron. It's "per episode", not "per month" - https://www.patreon.com/bePatron?u=14316355

I try to accept upstream's out-the-box experience. The package author has a vision for their package. To deviate from that vision amounts to forking the vision, and incurring the cost of maintaining that fork.

I will occasionally add to my .emacs, I'm just more reluctant to do so nowadays.

Why do I bother using Emacs, if I don't take advantage of its tinkerability? Emacs is a great platform! The packages I install rely on Emacs's tinkerability.

I have also tried to make my Emacs lighter while still being comfortable. I love speed! (Aren't computers meant to be getting faster, not slower?). Although it is not always clear to me which configurations significantly impact performance. Does anyone know a good way to measure this?